IR acquires power IC line from Fairchild to bolster military businessNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentEL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- International Rectifier Corp. today announced it has acquired the high-reliability, power MOSFET product line from Fairchild Semiconductor International for approximately $29.6 million cash.
These power management semiconductors are used extensively in aerospace and defense applications, according to International Rectifier. The El Segundo-based company expects the product line to contribute approximately $10 million in revenue in the first 12 months and to be accretive im

Online component info service turns independentNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentMajor Japanese electronic-component manufacturers will set up an independent company, PartsWay Corp., to take over the catalog distribution service and dictionary standardization work from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

Agilent plans major upgrade of SoC chip testersNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentSANTA CLARA, Calif. -- During a series of presentations here this week, Agilent Technologies Inc. gave a sneak preview of plans to upgrade its IC testers for cutting-edge communications semiconductors, system-on-a-chip products and other devices.

Centillium sees stronger demand for DSL chips in JapanNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentFREMONT, Calif.--Centillium Communications Inc. here said a strong pickup in demand for digital subscriber line (DSL) products in Japan has caused the company to re-evaluate its chip inventory, which had been previously written down in value because it was believed to be obsolete or excessive for market conditions.

JMAR to dump semiconductor productsNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentX-ray lithography equipment supplier JMAR Technologies Inc. said it will discontinue its standard semiconductor product line and seek a buyer for the fabless chip operation.

UK 4G 'some way off'News & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentUK mobile comms players say it is likely to be some time before they turn their attention to fourth
generation (4G) systems, even though Japan's NTT DoCoMo has announced that it is already building an experimental 4G network.

Advanced Energy buys German supplier of power systems for fab toolsNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentFORT COLLINS, Colo. -- In a move to strengthen its European presence in chip fabs and other manufacturing facilities, Advanced Energy Industries Inc. today announced it has purchased Dressler HF Technik GmbH in Stolberg, Germany, which is a privately-held supplier of radio-frequency power systems for plasma-based equipment and processes.

UMC's U.S. president resigns amid ongoing foundry slumpNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentSUNNYVALE, Calif. -- James Kupec, president of United Microelectronics Corp.'s U.S. subsidiary, has quietly resigned from the Taiwanese silicon foundry giant, SBN has learned.
Officials from UMC's U.S. subsidiary here confirmed that Kupec resigned from the company about two weeks ago. No other details were given and Kupec could not be reached for comment.

Backlighting inverter rollsNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentEndicott Research's LD series of dc/ac inverters, for 10.4- to 15-inch diagonal LCDs backlit by two to four cold-cathode fluorescent lamps, measures only 8 mm high. Powered by a regulated 12-V dc source, the inverter delivers up to 10 W.

Regulator touted as tinyNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentAnalog Devices claims that its ADP3089 1.5-amp dc/dc regulator, in what the company terms an eight-pin, 3 x 3-mm chip-scale package, is the industry's smallest with the highest current density.

Dc supplies target industrial testNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentIFR Systems' line of variable-switching regulated dc power supplies, the Kikusui PAM Series, has eight models in 2-kilowatt and 4-kW versions that the company says provide a new level of price and performance to the burn-in, life testing and bulk power markets.

Walter Hewlett files suit over voting process in HP-Compaq mergerNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentPALO ALTO, Calif. -- A group led by Walter B. Hewlett here today announced it has filed a suit against Hewlett-Packard Co. over the voting process in HP's $21 billion merger with Compaq Computer Corp.
The suit, filed in the Delaware Chancery Court, raises issues about the process by which HP solicited votes for the approval of the proposed merger with Compaq, particularly from large institutional stockholders, such as Deutsche Bank.

R&D tax credit is set at 20%News & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentR&D tax credits should be introduced in this month's Budget at a 20% rate. This is ahead of some expectations, but will still be less of a benefit to industry than the biggest lobbyists had wanted.

Hard cores point to split in FPGA plansNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentLattice Semiconductor and Actel, the third and fourth largest players in programmable logic, aim to carve out niches from the general-purpose SRAM-based device
market dominated by their larger competitors.

Foundry hikes capex plans by nearly $1 billionNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentTAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s chairman said that his company will sharply increase capital spending this year, called on the government to remove restrictions on investment in China, and repeated a pledge to invest $20 billion at home.
TSMC, the largest pure-play foundry house worldwide, is set to boost its capex this year to $2.57 billion, 56% more than the $1.65 billion target forecast months ago, chairman Morris Chang said during a visit today to Taiwan's Premier

Zarlink to sell U.K. plant to X-Fab and receive foundry servicesNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentPLYMOUTH, England -- Canada's Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. today announced it has found a buyer for its wafer fab here. X-Fab Semiconductor Foundries AG of Erfurt, Germany, has agreed to buy the facility for $30 million--$12 million in cash on closing of the transaction and $18 million in secured notes payable over three years, the two companies said.

Motorola unveils 16-bit flash MCU duoProduct News 3/28/2002 Post a commentMotorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector has introduced two 16-bit flash microcontrollers, bringing to 10 the number of such devices spun from its HCS12 architecture, which is especially popular among automakers.

Tiny RF inductors pack a punchNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentWhat's on the minds of wireless components engineers? According to suppliers of inductors, the designers want much smaller components to meet the growing demand for portable handheld devices where pc-board space is at a premium.

Plants lined up for recycling lawsNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentTwo UK recycling companies are to open plants that could ultimately help local technology companies meet the demands of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.

Dense WDM transceivers hot-plug to reduce costsNews & Analysis 3/28/2002 Post a commentAgilent Technologies said its AFKC-xxxx dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) transceivers are hot-pluggable parts. As such, the devices replace through-hole devices and pigtailed connections, both of which tend to increase installation time and assembly time in high-volume systems, Agilent said.